Mangino: KU offense ailing

By Ryan Wood     Oct 8, 2006

Without getting specific – he never does – Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino disclosed Saturday his offense had an incomplete week on the practice field, largely because of injuries to several key players.

Mangino didn’t name names, but standout running back Jon Cornish admitted he was one of them.

Cornish certainly didn’t look the least bit dinged Saturday, running for 127 yards on 23 carries in KU’s 21-18 loss to Texas A&M. He really was the lone bright spot on the inconsistent KU offense, and he continued churning out 100-yard performances in what’s beginning to be a weekly habit.

Saturday’s was his fifth in six games and gives him 710 rushing yards on the season.

Surprisingly, Cornish said he didn’t get any real work until Thursday’s practice, and he was seen limping earlier in the week.

“My body feels 100 percent right now,” Cornish said after the game, “but it won’t in two hours.”

Cornish isn’t alone.

Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Herford was dinged up enough that he was unable to play Saturday. Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier has been day-to-day for three weeks because of a shoulder injury, and Mangino said at least one other offensive player missed part of the week on the practice field, though it’s unknown who it was, what was hurting or when he returned.

“I think they’re going to be fine. Just some soreness to get through,” Mangino said. “There’s a couple that I’m still concerned about how they functioned, and of course we had one (Herford) that we didn’t play at all because of injury. Hopefully, we’ll heal up pretty quick.”

In addition to the injuries, Meier’s uncertainty took away from practice snaps for quarterback Adam Barmann, who played the whole game Saturday despite not getting normal first-team work on the practice field. It wasn’t known until around Thursday that Meier would be unable to play for the third straight week, and only then was Barmann put into the starting role without reservations.

The personnel problems certainly could’ve played a role in KU’s struggles offensively. The Jayhawks converted just three of 15 third-down opportunities and scored just one touchdown despite four trips to the red zone.

Even Cornish struggled in the first half, gaining just 19 yards on eight carries. But a 49-yard run in the third quarter, followed by 38 yards on four consecutive plays later in the third boosted him over the century mark again.

A legitimate All-Big 12 candidate, Cornish was asked afterward how long he could be hampered by the undisclosed injury.

“I’ll be back,” Cornish said, almost like he wasn’t around Saturday.

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